the earth shall rejoyce over them and make merry and shall send gifts one to another because these two Prophets tormented them c. They that dwell on the Earth shal rejoyce All fleshly powers and parts rejoyce and are glad in these formes There is an ease a freedome a joy a rejoycing that ariseth in and amongst earthly men when these two Prophets are slain And shall send gifts one to another Those that were before counted earthly men are now in their owne Esteem Heavenly Wee are say they good Christians Religious men yea in their owne esteem and so they judge of them selves in the midest of their merriment And though wee bee in the Earth and on the Earth yet wee have Peace and Quietnesse and gladnesse wee rejoyce and are merry together Now there is nothing to vex us because they that tormented us are dead This is the manner of their boasting and glorying over the dead bodies the Carcasses of the witnesses when they are slain But after three daies and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them After the death of the witnesses followes their resurrection there must be a death before there can be a resurrection People would fain ascend into Heaven and possesse Heaven and attain to the resurrection of the dead but this they cannot doe untill they be first slain You must die before you can rise I speak to those that are spirituall into whom these Olive trees have emptied themselves I say there must be a death before there can be a resurrection The most excellent the most glorious christians that I know must be slain After three daies and an halfe It 's a sad time this The slaying of the witnesses The prophesie is mournfull yet very effectuall When the Beast ascendes out of the bottomlesse pit killing the witnesses it 's a sad time but when they rise again it is a time of great rejoycing Though their death be grievious yet their resurrection is glorious After three daies and a half This is expressed else-where by a time times and half a time First A Time that 's one day Then times that 's two daies Then half a time or the division of time that 's half a day The meaning is this It will be but a while that the witnesses must lie in this sad and dead condition It will be but a day and two daies and half a day or a time times and half a time and then they shall rise again In this sad condition there will be an expectation of a quick and sudden deliverance Well saith the Soul after one day is past I shall be delivered and recover again This is comfortable that it is but a day O the slaying of the witnesses though a sad time will not be without a day to your spirits A day wherein ye shall see God A day wherein ye shall know 't is day A day wherein shall be an expectation of a seasonable and sweet deliverance But then alas there are yet two dries and half a day wherein it will grow more dark there will be multiplied evils there will be division of times Now saith the Soul let it be when God will I am contented to wait I am not carefull when it shall be When the heart shall lose its expectation of a quick deliverance and shall scarce have a thought of deliverance at all much lesse know when it shall be and shall ly down in a sweet submission now let it be when God pleaseth When this state daies or times is past then comes half a day or half a time And this is a short time now deliverance hasteneth He will cut his work short in righteousnesse For except these daies should be shortened no flesh should be saved but for the Elects sake they are shortend They are but half so much at last as they were at first God will cut his work short in righteousnesse And the Spirit of life from God entered into them There is not true life but by the Spirit of life which is in God When the Spirit of the holy God comes into us then we live that 's a life in deed Before it was the Spirit of God working in a poor low sad state it was a life in sack-cloth a mournfull a dying life a life next the grave But when the Spirit of life from God the Spirit of life that is life it self lives in man then he is well then he lives then he hath life indeed And I heard a great voice from Heaven saying come up hither Untill we hear this great voice Come up hither there is no life there is no motion but when we hear this Voyce then we live I see People are gaping after Heaven but they cannot come up thither see the glory of God or know any true solid joy or peace till they be dead and raised again Then shall they hear a great Voice saying COME VP HITHER And yet this is but the sixt Trumpet So much briefly for this time The end of the ninth sermon THE WITNESSES DEATH AND RESURRECTION REVEL 11.11 12. And after three daies and a halfe the Spirit of life from God entered into them and they stood upon their feet and great fear fell upon them which saw them And they heard a great voice from Heaven saying unto them Come up hither And they ascended up to Heaven in a cloud and their enemies beheld them WE have already opened part of this mystery of the two witnesses and have shewed you who they are These two Olive trees or the two golden Candlesticks that stand on the right hand and on the left before the God of the whole earth are Christ and the Spirit who do testify and witnesse concerning the Father And though other ordinary Interpretations of the two Witnesses may be taken in as that it is the Magestracy and the Ministry the old and new Testament and the Saints yet al of them in a very far and remote way and as they have some analogy and similitude with Christ and the Spirit Christ in the flesh being the Minister Priest or Prophet of the Church and Christ in the Spirit being the Magestrate King or Governour of his Church Some take them to be the old and new Testtament which is indeed a dark Figure of Christ in flesh and Christ in Spirit The Old Testament which stood in types shadowes and figures of Christ to come in the flesh may be taken to bee a dark figure of Christ in flesh and the New testament or New Covenant being the testimony and witness of God more clearly with open face may be taken in as a figure of Christ in Spirit Some say they are the Saints and these are indeed the Saints of God the Holy ones of GOD the truly Anointed ones of God These have power that if any man will hurt them fire proceeds out of their mouthes fire proceeds out of the mouth of Christ in the Sdirit and this devours their enemies and
the very lowest things even our flesh makes the place of his feet glorious wil lose nothing is present with the lowest things as well as with the highest though not after the same manner or in the same manifestation while they abide in their Iownes but he will raise the lowest to the highest and the lowest shall be in the highest and the higest in the lowest the whole creation in Man and Man in Christ and Christ in God The Rule therefore for things is this To retain the distinction in the union and the union in al distictions And the Rule that God leads Saints by is this to lissen to God as he brings forth himself within them to rejoyce in each degree of his light waiting still till be Fashion every formlesse lump into its right shape and bring forth every imperfect Embryon to its full growth and settle the Chaos into its distinction not to out-run the appearances of God and lust or languish impatiently after Meats when God is establishing our hearts with grace I charge ye O ye daughters of Jerusalem that ye stir not up nor awake my love in his present desingnment until he please But not to forget the end of this preface It is in a word to give a brief accompt of the drift of the ensuing Discourses and of the cause of publishing of them As for the discourses you will finde them pregnant with the glory of Union union with God and Christ and Saints This is the Mount into which this Discourser hath been taken and yet ye will finde the subordination and distinction so clearly acknowledged by him as might have satisfied the observing and unprejudiced Reader though I had animadverted nothing upon it To what I have said concerning it I shall adde onely this That Distinction is the Wife and Union the Husband Distinction the weaknesse Vnion the strength Distinction the Law Vnion the Gospel Distinction the first Creation Vnion the second Creation and therefore Distinction as the Woman is barren and un-crown'd unlesse Vnion rest upon it But if the supream Vnity will multiply and bring forth Himself in and upon each distinction in and by Union then indeed is distinction glorious Distinction is as an Instrument of ten strings that in the hand of Union will make most delightfull Melody otherwise it is but a jarring sound I am sure and have found out by experience these two things That while a mans head is fraught with the riches of Distinction leannes may enter into his soul And that if we know a glory higher then that we are in union with we cannot be happy This for the discourses Now for publishing them Ye are to put this Office wholly upon the accompt of the forward affections of some of the Hearers who out of the best notes compared together have drawn forth this Copy with a desire to impart them for a more publicke benefit which invited me to prefix this word If the Author or rather he by whom these discourses be ministred to us doe pardon the adventurers so the Reader may receive good thereby then there is all the reason that ye for whose sakes it is undertaken should pardon the faults escaped For a farewell Remember it is the finger of God onely that writes God in the heart The writings of men are but a witnesse of God in flesh Thus I leave it with you who am Yours all of yee that are the Lords Ioshua Sprigge THE TITLES and Texts of the severall Sermons Sermon I. and II. THe Reign of God on Psalm 97.1 2 3 4 5 6. verses Sermon III. The coming of the King of Zion on Zechariah 9.9 Sermon IIII and V. The coming of the Kingdome of Cod. Luke 17.20 21 22. Sermon VI and VII The excellency of the love of Cod. on Psalm 36.7 8. Sermon VIII God the head of Christ as Christ of his Church on 1 Cor. 9 10 11. Sermon IX X XI The Witnesses death and Resurrection In a short exposition of the eleventh Chap. of the Revelation To the Reader Freind THese Sermons did abruptly presse into the world in the Pulpit and gave us no warning at all they are Abortives borne before their time and therefore you can expect little shape or comliness in them They are suddain and lively actings of the Spirit that disdaines the help of Art and dare professe their incomposednesse to study and chuse a Rude nakednesse of their owne before a cloathing of humane industry They have stolne into the Presse also without my knowledge and in my absence Coming to Towne I finde them where I looked not for them Printed and ready to come out and thought wholy to have disowned them but finding some sweetnesse in them I could not wholly turne my back upon them Being thus thou wilt say I spoke what I understood not I may cofesse that and that the Writer and Printer put forth what they understood not let it be so and then you will not wonder if you read what you understand not there were faults in Speaker Writer Printer and will be in the Reader T is a Thiefe steales out in the night and carries night upon him and if thou finde him plundering thee of thy reason and understanding use him as thou pleasest T is like all the World a ruinous heap light darknesse fighting together Yet they that have love and light to see God in every thing will meet him here in clouds and rejoice in him T is a cry at midnight Behold the Bridgroome cometh Haste and disorder may best suit such an occasion and if thou understand but that in it it will be both profitable and pleasant to thee I am sure to him that loves The appearing of the Lord the tidings of it will be welcome from any man and in any fashion But if thy spirit be not yet awakened to expect the Lord I am perswaded here is so much light in these as to trouble thee and alittle to disturbe thy worldly rest and if I do but disquiet thee at this time it will be a kindnesse to thee In a most rich enjoyment of his gracious presence and certain assurance of his perfect fullnesse doe I rejoyce and in this joy I desire thou mayest enjoy thy selfe and then this and every thing will be sweet unto thee In this farewell WIL. SEDGWICK READOR If thou resolvest to travel through these discourses thou shalt do well to facilitate thy way by removing these rubs with thy 〈◊〉 before hand As for other litteral faâ—â—â— the Printer presumes upon thy pardon of course Page 15. line 10. for no read not p. 39. l. 23. de which p. 101. l. 7. de and. p. 105. l. 12. r. Christs p. 112. l. 24. r. crowned p. 118. l. 18. r. that what p. 132. l5 ad is far better p. 141. l. 9. r. wears away p. 146. l. 14. r. imbody l. 28. ad how p. 147. ad as men p. 148. l. 4. de As. p. 194. l. 1. r. fourty
there is something of Christ in me he is in my spirit there he is spiritually but I have flesh and a body there hee is not This voice is the same with that in the Text Loe here is Christ and there is Christ and here hee is not and there hee is not To shut Christ out of any place out of any thing this is to say Loe here or loe there these are false Christs This is the wickednes of man to include and exclude Christ to imprison him into one thing to make him to bee one where and not another where but Christ is and there is none besides him hee is weaknes as wel as strength darknesse as well as light evil as well as good Christ in mee Christ in all the LORD in triumph the LORD crucified the LORD exalting the LORD humbling the LORD in life the LORD in death the LORD saving the LORD destroying the the LORD here blessing the LORD there cursing this is Christ if ye cannot see him in one thing as well as another in wicked men as well as good men in this death as well as his resurrection in lengths and depths and breadths and all ye doe not see him at all Here 's the narrownesse of the heart of every man a sensible creature full of observation and his own reason saying Loe here is Christ there is Christ here hee is not there hee is not narrowing of him into their owne observation he is in me when I am so qualified and hee is not in mee when I am not so qualified not knowing or understanding that hee is in some trampled on under the feet of his enemies and yet there in glory in some hee is at the top in some he is at the bottome in some withering them in some bringing forth fruit in some sweetning and moderating their nature in some letting forth wrath and emnity For behold the Kingdome of GOD is within you God will be all or nothing ye shall not thinke him like your selves The kingdom of God is within you in every one of you The kingdome of God is amongst you ye are possessours of it it is not without yee ye have it while yee are led out by your carnall reason to observe it without it is neglected within Behold Behold saith hee the kingdome of God is within you Heavenly blessednesse is within yee and ye doe not see it till ye see it there If yee had eyes to see saith he ye would see your selves in the kingdome and the kingdom in you This is a sweet Behold and a word of speciall grace and favour Those thoughts that leade you out of your selves for God for Christ believe them not hate them abhorre them O lay down all those wicked imaginations those carnal observations those cursed reasonings of the kingdom of God within yee Some men thinke to see the Kingdome of God comming in such and such a person to see the Kingdome of God comming in such and such sights and voices these are delusions Behold the kingdome of Christ the kingdome of God the kingdome of heaven is within you use it as you will deal with it as you please but in you t is t is in you supprest t is covered over with a deale of desperate wickednesse with a thicke vail and none knowes that it is there but it self there t is seen only and enjoy'd only by it self Or give mee leave to say I am within you all that I speak am and doe is within you all the light and glory that I have is within you and yee doe not understand me if ye do not see me within you There is another comes between me you if you hear me without you If ye hear not this LORD speaking within you ye understand nothing and so the words that I speake they are cast into another forme before they reach your ear the evil one takes them from the Spirit which is in you and carries them about to you thorow the ear While I speake and am understood in that sense I am abused and wrong'd That speech that I will bee understood in must be understood in is to speak in the heart within you That life that I live is in you and speakes that that I speak and I doe nothing but interpret and open what your heart speakes Let mee not bee another from you for then yee oppose mee and resist mee and yee will not heare not receive the truth that I declare which is my own heart my life my bosome my self These are the things than are lodg'd and wrapt up in my heart to eternity these are my very soul only I have been asleep and now being awakened I see they are all in mee If yee hear with the inward ear and see with the inward eye you will say This is not a man but the Son of God This is my bosome friend my LORD and husband that begins to awake and rowse me This is a fountain and no streame I doe you injury if I speake of a Kingdome of God without you that is I my selfe without you that is I my self without you for the true spirituall new man is the kingdom of God what I am indistinction from you is an evil to you if your unbelieving spirits say I am a man and another woe be to that distinction but if ye say this is my LORD and my Father happy is that union The kingdom of GOD is within you It is not without you in Ordinances in Scriptures The kingdome of God The whole kingdome all is in you all Truth all Scriptures all Wisdome all Power all Strength all that I AM all that God is all that Christ is all that Heaven is all that God in Reign and Kingdom is is within you I hear I see the kingdome of God comming forth breaking forth in every man and every man alwaies is but now begins to appear to be what God is in him The Kingdome of God either justifying or condemning either punishing or rewarding punishing man flesh with darknes or rewarding Man with light glory and blessednesse He that lives indeed I know hears mee and smiles at this and rejoyces in his soul The true life the true man the true ear rejoyces at this and speaks it selfe That all the Power all the Excellency of God is in mee it s with mee it s not out of mee it declares it self in me all the Majesty of God the Kingdome of God All Every thing it s here it s in this man in this creature in you within you and reignes there its King there though a King crucified though on the Crosse yet hee is King of the Jews Though denied for a while and opposed yet a King and a Kingdome This is the bravery and noblenes of this Kingdome it is not lessened by hatred by death it s as glorious in the grave as it is in exaltation as glorious in rejection and persecution as it is in height and glory
of the man so the man is by the woman but all things of God The Woman is of the Man Christ saith I am of the Father The Church saith I am of Christ I have nothing saith Christ but what I have of the Father I have nothing saith the Soul but what I have in Christ I doe nothing of my self but what I see the Father doe saith Christ I doe nothing of my self nothing of my own but as I see Christ doe what I have or am I am of him saith Man I am all of him and in him This is more easily confest But then Even so is man by the woman As I am of Christ saith the Soul even so is Christ by me As the woman saith I am of man I confesse so is man by me and he hath his being from me Question How comes this to be so Answ First Thus Man is by the Woman in the stubstance in Jesus Christ As Wisdome borne of a woman He is therefore called the Sonne of Man descended from Man As Christ descends from God in a way of descending the Father begets the Sonne the Son begets us so the Sonne ariseth out of us The Father out of him As Christ receives substance from the Father and we from him so Christ ariseth out of us The Father out of him And as we borrow our selves of him so he is borrowed out of us As by his travel we are brought forth he labours six daies and brings forth us so by our labor he is brought forth by us And he doth as freely confesse us to be his Mother as he is willing to be our Father He hath his originall from us and doth confesse that it is his glory that he hath his birth rice and growth out of such a poore mean stock and root as Man Jesus Christ is by us he is of man he is called the Son of man First Nan is in the World then Christ then God as God is first in Heaven then Christ then Man And so if ye will take the point of the lowest from the Earth Then first Man is begotten Man is Man lives and after man is then comes Christ borne of Man an age after Man the second unto unto Man when Christ hath lived heer a time then is God As we are of him so he is of us Even so is the man by the woman God doth so empty Himself of all that he hath into the Son that he doth as it were receive a new being from the Sonne God doth so love Jesus Christ that he doth deny himselfe for his sake I doe even spoyle my self of my glory my Son to empty it into thee I doe divest my self of my glory to put it upon and in thee Christ comes and empties himselfe by his humiliation into us I will powre out my Kingdome into you I will suffer my Kingdome to be wholly emptied into flesh into man And the next Kingdome that I have shall be in Man in you And if I am not emptied enough into you by my incarnation then I le come forth on the crosse and be slain that I might be more in you And the glory that I had distinct from you I have lost it And ever I be raised again it shall be by you and in you or in you and with you Even so is Man also by the Woman That seeing it hath pleased me to humble my self so low or it hath pleased thee for my sake in obedience to me to be abased therefore in reward to this righteousnesse and subjection of thine I le have my glory out of thee by thee And then when our Lord Jesus hath brought us into subjection and slain us Now Mark That out of an empty and dying state I will arise into glory and I will come to my greatnesse and majesty by this meanes that you are in Though Man be the head of the Woman yet Man is by the woman and though this be the greatnesse of Man yet he must have his being by the Woman A woman shall compasse a man And he is swollowed up and lost even in this weaknesse that he might receive another glory out of us by us and in us But all things of God Now if ye meet with this mystery in any peece of it if you meet with this truth in in any percel of it or if you meet with this in a side-look it will have no comlinesse at all in it or nothing to be desired but if you see this in open face as in God if you see God below and God above God in you and GOD without you God in Christ GOD in his People If you see God fill all in all how he is the highest in the lowest the lowest in the highest how he is gift in taking and taking in giving that what he gives he hath and what he hath he gives O this is order and harmony there 's no striffe or jarre in this tune every string speaks to one another and imbrace each other all points are good in their place and every period if you take them in God as all things are in God O now 't is excellent here 't is precious Heavenly mysteries are pleasant reconciled sweet no where but in God of GOD but out of him they are full of weaknesse obsurdity and meer vanity And any of these enjoyments outward beings inward speculations outward actions c. if they are not all as of God in GOD they are all nothing In being broken off from the whole they are kil'd and slain but in the head ye see them joyntly imbrace one another as many and yet one being two and yet one being two and yet the same being one and yet devided devided yet whole This is sweet The end of the eight sermon THE WITNESSES DEATH AND RESURRECTION REVEL 11.11 12. And after three daies and a halfe the Spirit of life from God entered into them and they stood upon-their feet and great fear fell upon them which saw them And they heard a great voice from Heaven saying unto them Come up hither And they ascended up to Heaven in a cloud and their enemies beheld them THere is much talk and discourse of the two witnesses and of the slaying of the witnesses which hath occasions the opening of this Scripture at this time I shall briefly passe through the former part of the Chapter which shews the mystery of these two witnesses in a lower and sadder state Prophesâ—ing in sack-cloth together with their death and the lying of their dead bodies in the streets of the great City And shall hasten to that which to me is the most pleasant and delightfull Their Resurrection and Ascension which are exprest in the verses now read It s said in the first verse of the chap. There was given to me a Reed like unto a Rod and the Angel stood saying Rise and measure the Temple of God and the Alter and they that worship therein We know concerning the
doth certainly foretell though in them very darkly something that is to come But first let me tel you that that which shall kill them must Ascend out of the Bottomlesse pit It shall bee no outward or visible force that shall slay these two Witnesses It shall bee by no visible Power of Kings or Princes Papists or Malignants that these Witnesses shall be killed no we may see to the Bottom of al these That which shall slay these two Witnesses shall Ascend from a pit that hath no Bottom that is There shall such hellish fins such Hideous Monstrous darknesse such filthy Beastlinesse arise in the mindes and spirits of men that shall fight against the very Light of Christ and the Spirit of Christ in His People But these Witnesses are above the rage and reach of all visible Powers They may indeed kill and slay the bodies of men and after that can doe no more for alas that is not that which is here slain But the two Olive Trees Christ in Fesh and Spirit And that which kills them is a Beast a Beastlinesse below the Beastlinesse of man It 's not man it 's by no power of man It 's Beastly darknesse Beastly lusts Hellish wickedness such as ariseth from a Pit that hath no bottom such as you cannot tel whence it is nor what it is such as hath not been visibly manifest amongst the Sons of men Ye shall see yet more abominable hellish hiddious beastly black wickednesse then ever yet appeared Ye cannot yet tel the Father of these wickednesses Ye are able to say such and such wickednesses comes from the Pope such and such from Jesuites and Papists such and such from your owne hearts But yee shall finde such black hellish wickednesse such disorder and confusion such torment such disquietment such ignorance such base ignorance come out of a Pit deeper and darker and filthyer then hath yet been found out amongst the sons of men such as is without length or breadth such as is not to be fathomed or measured such a pit shal be opened and such darknesse come in to the world as never before appeared such as shall be blacker and baser and fouler then hitherto hath been brought forth And these shall make warre against the Witnesses and overcome them First fight then overcome and kill them First oppose the light of the LORD the Spirit of the LORD Christ I say oppose these two witnesses and testimonies of the presence of the LORD of GOD dwelling in flesh killing flesh offering up flesh upon the Alter These shal be opposed Secondly overcome them and kill them There is a continuall opposition of the Death and of the Resurrection of Christ and of Christ Risen in us of GOD dwelling with us and in us And there shal such a darknesse such a black darknesse arise out of this bottomles pit that shal fight with this light overcome it and kill it So that ye shal not bee able to say ye have God in you These Olive trees shall not give forth their Oyle they shall not bee able to speake their own Language in you ye shal not enjoy those sweet inward refreshings that some times yee have had The Witnesses shal be overcome killed and slain such hidious monsterous darknesse shal arise in you that yee shall not know that yee have the Spirit of God that Christ dwels in you ye shal not be able to see or say that yee have the presence of God with you that ye have the presence of these two Olive trees Emptying their Golden Oyle into you Al their opperations shal be quite killed slain and dead And their dead bodies shall lye in the streets of the great City which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt where also our Lord was crucified The place of the dead bodies is the streets of the great City Babylon The world govern'd by Satan the god of the world is Babylon In the Streets of the great City Babylon yee shall have the dead bodies of the Witnesses lye un-buried There yee shall have some formes and figures of what they have said and done but dead without life without power without spirit Yee shal have strange workings of the Devill and Satan in the streets of the great City when the Witnesses are killed to preserve their carcasses formes and figures spiritless and life-less And this is the wickednes of the flesh Heightened There are these two Streets in the great City Sodom and Egypt that will bee found in you though they doe not yet appeare The filthinesse of Sodom pride gluttony fulnesse of bread and abundance of Idlenesse The wickednes of Egypt Idolatry enmity rage and malice against the Israel of GOD. Where also our Lord was Crucified Our Lord was Crucified at Jerusalem litterally or according to the Letter But spiritually it was in Sodom and Egypt It was the filthy wickednesse of Sodom and the cursed enmity of Egypt that Crucified Christ And you wil finde that that spirituall Sodom and Egypt that filthy wickednesse of Sodom and that cursed Idolatry of Egypt is that same wickednesse which shal wil and must kill and slay these two witnesses or thus That wickednesse in the Scribes and Pharisees that crucified Christ formerly I say that wickednesse Heightened and Spirituallized in the worldly fleshly part of the Saints that wickednesse growne more vil'd and more abominable then ever was known before The wickednesse of the Scribes and Pharisees that accused Christ of the High Priest that condemned Christ of Judas that betrayed Christ that grown as Sodom and Egypt as the filthy whordome of Sodom as the cursed emnity of Egypt shal make warre against these two witnesses and kill them Here the Dead bodies of these two Witnesses Lyeth And they of the people and kinreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three daies and an halfe and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves Peoples Kinreds Nations Tongues Gifts Strengths Powers c. Shal see the dead bodies of the two Witnesses the outward forme and figure without spirit and life The outward carcasse that these Heavenly lights that these two witnesses did minister in They shal see them and shal not suffer them to be buried to bee put in graves The earthly carnal worldly part of man cannot endure that these bodies should bee buried And why They live upon them they cannot subsist without them their very life and being is upheld and maintained by the carcass by the body the dead body by the fleshly part that is in man in the Saints The Remembrance and sight of these is their very life therefore they will not suffer them to bee put in graves to bee buried out of their sight They keep up al outward and fleshly formes above ground as long as they can It is their life their peace their comfort their joy they are glad that the Spirit and life is gon that was wont to vex and torment them And they that dwell on
where the carcasse is thither will the Eagles bee gathered together Thither this Eagle the Divine Spirit of GOD doth resort to this Carcasse I say to Revive it This heavenly Eagle or Spirit of GOD comes and eats up all the deadliness all the corruption all the Carcass that he in us might live in the Spirit There is no true life but the Spirit of life Then may we say we live when we live in the Spirit of GOD this is called the quickning Spirit The first Man was made a living soul the Second was made a quickning Spirit Man is a living soul a living creature and it is the Spirit of GOD that makes him to live a Spiritual life but when that life is killed and slain then he hath a second life for it a better life The Spirit of life life it selfe true life indeed And we know no life no true life but in the LORD our life When HE who is OVR life shall appear c. While the Witnesses prophesie they cannot say that they live but when they have received the Spirit of life then they can truly say they live Now they can claime that title I was dead but am alive I am the resurrection and the life There is no true life til there be a Resurrection til then it 's but a state of mortallity It is not yet life But when we revive and rise again mortallity is swallowed up of life now we live indeed That 's true life that is not subject to death that is true life that cannot be killed That life that is under the Power of death that is under the Command of death that can be extinguished by death is no true life It s life to be set free from death to be dis-engaged and dis-obliged from the command of this King of fears when we can say O death Where is thy sting O grave Where is thy victory When wee can trample upon death that is life true Life indeed The Spirit of life from God True life consists in a continual flowing forth from God a daily powring out of the Divine life the Divine nature into us enlivening and quickning all our actions and services Those are not living actions living services living performances that flow not from the life of GOD in us We live when every thing we act or speak flows from the life of God in us Then wee live when al we do comes from GOD when God sends it forth God speakes it God doth it then they are living words living actions In thy presence is life The absence of the soul from the body is the shadow and but the shadow of death but the absence of GOD from a thing or person that 's death Spiritual death You cannot say a man lives except you see his soul act move speak c. If yee were Christians indeed ye would not say you live until yee hear the voice of GOD saying to you This is the way of God these are the words and works of God There is life true life indeed The reviving and life of these two witnesses is the resurrection and the life the life of the Sonne of God God comes forth in these two in the Son and in the Spirit the fulnes of God shewing it self in the flesh of Christ and the Spirit of Christ this is life These three are all in union together the Father the Son and Spirit in one conjunction and unity The Father puting forth himself in the Son by the Spirit The Father acting quickning and inlivening the Son by the Spirit these mutually imbracing each other is our life Concerning this resurrection of the witnesses observe that it is graduall The Spirit of life from God first entred into them after that they live there was a kinde of absence before but now a presence of the Spirit of God The holy God suffers a kinde of parting to be between himself and his Son ney betwixt himself and his own Spirit which is himself and after this again there is a reuniting First There must be an entrance The Spirit of God first enters into them then they live The Resurrection though it be quick though it be in a moment in the twinkling of an eye yet it is graduall First There is an entrance of the Spirit The Spirit of life from God entered into them Secondly There is a double effect of this entering of the Spirit 1. They stood upon their feet 2. They heard a great voiyce saying Come up hither First The Spirit of the Lord entered into them while they are dead while their dead bodies were lying in the streets of the great City the breath of life from God entered into them And this is very certain we shall not lose any thing that we have had Though the Lord withdraw himselfe from us a little while yet he will returne to us again and then he wil gather up al that is scattered and enter into all that 's dead And they stood upon their feet This is the second gradation or the second degree of their Resurrection which is two-fold 1. They could own the Lord they could say The Lord is with us our God is with us and in us Life is come to us We are the holy ones of God We are the golden candlesticks upon whom the light of God doth shine This is the Spirit of life from our God And then secondly they are raised from the earth and so raised as that they can stand upon their feet an expression of the dry bones Ezek. 37. into whom when the breath of the Lord came they lived they stood upon their feet an exceeding great Army So the Prophet Ezekel when he was overcome by the glory of God in the great vision he saw chapter 2. it 's said The Spirit of the Lord entred into him and he stood upon his feet And so Daniel was raised chapter 10.10 11. O Daniel a man greatly beloved understand the words that I speak unto thee and stand upright Which is the same with this The Spirit of the Lord intring into us standing up in us manifesting and shewing what wee are making us visibly to appear the anointed ones of God inabling us to stand up and own a heavenly and spiritual life and light to appear to arise to shew our selves that we are the holy ones of God And though whilest wee were slain and dead we could not owne the Lord or acknowledge him we could not confesse the Lord who he was and what he was because we were in death and darknesse yet now having the Spirit of the Lord entred into us we now being raised from the dead we stand up and are able to say Wee are the Lords wee are the holy anointed ones of God There is life and strength and confidence appearing in the witnesses standing upon their feet so that they can say We by this life or in this life of God are able to live amonst men to walk about in the Name
into their eyes into their hearts that I know they see and connot but see and say This is the Lord and they tremble And I heard a great voyce saying Come up hither When we are alive we hear the voyce of GOD. And though the voyce of GOD be a mighty voyce a great voyce a strong voyce yet when we hear God speak we rejoyce O pleasant voyce pleasant because from Heaven O Heavenly voyce When Heaven speakes it speakes love and life and joy and glory and kingdome and power and goodness and excellency and majesty We hear it we hear it continually an eternal word It is alwaies sounding in our hearts and eares O this great voyce this mighty voyce Every thing that is in us heares it every faculty every part every gift Every thing heares this voyce It speaks largely it speaks mightily and powerfully it speakes to the whole man It is so big and great that it makes us to become all ear or the ear to be every where and every thing the head the feet the body the soul the spirit the inward man the outward man all hear this great voyce It speaks with Authority and Power It removes and sets aside every thought that hinders obedience to it hile we hear it we obey it we receive it It is so great that there is nothing else left but it This great Voyce saith Come up hither it is so great a voice that it turnes us into Heaven it turnes us into the voyce it selfe we are the voyce it fils Heaven and Earth so mighty so powerfull so full of majesty O it 's the great answer of our praiers the great end of our hopes the great glory we look for the great reward of our sufferings the great joy of our GOD the great love of our God! O It 's the voyce of our beloved of our Father of our King of our GOD It s thy voyce O GOD A great voyce from Heaven saying unto them Come up hither To them to none else none but the Holy ones the Anointed ones of God none but they that live in the Spirit of God though it be a great voyce yet it is spoken to none but them You my Son you my Spirit you my Self Come up hither Rev. 4.1 saith John A voyce said unto mee Come up hither and immediately I was in the Spirit So here When the Witnesses heare the voyce immediately they ascend The voyce takes them up into Heaven up into it selfe The voyce saiith unto them Come up hither Come to Me live in Me live in My Power live in My Strength live in My Glory live in My Kingdome Be as I Am Be where I Am Be what I Am Do what I Do Do as I Do Come into My Glory live not below the glory of God live no longer like creatures live no longer in the world but Come up hither and live in the glory of the Creator the glory of GOD Live not amongst men live not amongst Angels but live the life of GOD Come up hither Come to Me. This is not a going from place to place in a carnal way by a bodily motion but the true ascending and coming to God is in the Spirit of God in the life of God to live in the presence of God in the Face of God in the Kingdome of God in the Glory of God Come up hither O Excellent voyce O powerfull voicel O precious voyce O pleasant voycel Transcendent love Infinite goodnesse The bosome of the LORD opened Heaven it self opened The LORD Himself opening Himself and reaching forth his hand saying Come hither Come hither Ye cannot live any longer without me I can live no longer without you Let 's live together Ye are a part of my selfe I can no longer be parted from my self my self must come to my self we can live strangers no longer ye must come and live with me in my house Here 's a Throne sit down here 's a Crown put it on thy head here 's Glory weare it here 's a Kingdome it s yours We Come wee Ascend And they ascended up to Heaven in a cloud The third degree of their rising is upon their hearing We do arise we do ascend it is our nature to ascend and seeing we are now living the life of the LORD in the Spirit of the LORD we are able to ascend While wee were only men our faces tended to the earth down-wards but now our natural course is turn'd through the divine life of God in us we do ascend to Heaven to God or thus our ascending up daily more and more to God is become our naturall course Now we can quit the earth quit the creature quit the flesh al things below the glory of God we let them all go Now we bid farewel men farewel griefs and troubles and shame the companions of men Farewel earth farewel weaknesses cares and fears companions of the earth farewell now wee ascend to Heaven in a cloud In a cloud Whil'st we ascend in a Cloud somthing yet of darknesse and weakness accompanieth us Though we are hastening to glory hastening to God yet it 's in a cloud God descends Christ descends the Spirit descends and wee ascend yet we meet in a cloud GOD comes down to us we go up to meet God yet both in a cloud We meet together we converse together yet in a cloud Here 's the glory of God in the Saints not yet breaking forth into naked and open brightnesse but covered with Clouds with some weakness with some infirmity And their enemies beheld them Satan the Nations Kinreds Tongues religious Voyces religious Opinions Flesh and World all their enemies beheld them look upon them but its little comfort to them little joy to them to see them ascend This is an increase and addition to our glory that we must ascend in the sight and view of al those that hated us and persecuted us and were enimies to us and as they rejoyced when we were down so they must be troubled when we arise Hel death devil look on us and behold us and yet cannot hinder our asent we ascend and goe up in the sight and presence of all our adversaries yet they are not able to hold us down The witnesses that were slain arise and ascend into heaven yet their enemies cannot in the least measure hinder them As we ascend in the sight and view of God so in the sight and view of al our enemies As heaven is filled with joy at our arrivall so the world is filled with affrightment and amazment at parting with us we cannot leave the earth but we carry the life of the earth with us we take al good from hence and carry all good and glory into heaven with us Hel death devil shal al look upon us and shal bee troubled and not be able to keep one ragge of us from enjoying this Glory Majesty Brightnes and Excellency of GOD. The end of the tenth Sermon THE WITNESSES DEATH AND
RESURRECTION REVEL 11.13 And the same houre was there a great earthquake and the tenth part of the City fell and in this earth-quake were slain of men seven thousand and the remnant were affrighted and gave glory to the God of Heaven WE are unfolding the mystery of the two witnesses which are the witnesses of God in which and by which every word of God is confirmed they are two in their prophesie in sackcloth but their is a third conjoyned with them in their resurrection as they are in Heaven Ascended and Risen There are thee that bear witnes in heaven and by these three is every word establisht The Father the Son and the Spirit each of them having a sufficiency to confirm each other and together to put an end to all controversies You heard in the morning that there were severall degrees of the reviving of the witnesses the first degree is the entering of the Spirit of life from God into them which caused them to stand upon their feet Secondly They heard a great Voyce from Heaven calling them up Come up hither And thirdly There is their Ascention into Heaven They were taken up in a cloud and their enemies beheld them And in the 13 verse there is the effect of al this In the same hour there was a great earthquake and the tenth part of the City fell These works of God are not yet pure though they are very excellent Though there be a Resurrestion and Ascention into heaven yet it is in a cloud covered with some infirmity and darknesse and yet in this there is the greatest glory And the same hour was an Earthquake Or to speak the language of God elsewhere A rejoycing with trembling In the greatest appearance and manifestation of God so long as there is any Earth it Trembleth and indeed the more glorious the discoveries of God are the greater the Earthquake No Earth can be without moving and trouble that bears the weight of the glory of God upon it In this hour of ascention there is a mixture of some secret rejoycing and some trouble occasioned by the Earthquake or else take the Earth heer as distinct from the witnesses and then their ascending up from the Earth makes the Earth to shake Christ and the Spirit of God those two witnesses are the streneth and stability of the Earth yea the strength of the Pillars of the Earth I uphold the Pillars of the Earth saith the Lord He it is that strengthens the very foundations of the Earth And therefore when these witnesses the strength and Pillars of the Earth ascend and remove from it the Earth must needs quake and tremble The witnesses are the corner stone of the World It was by the word of the Lord that Eternall word that the Worlds were made that the Worlds are supported therefore when this Word of the Lord Ascends out of the World the World must needs shake The whole World hath lived and leaned upon Christ and the Spirit of Christ and now his arising and removall out of the World must needs prove the ruine and downfall of the World All your strength peace and comfort hath been borrowed of Christ and now his leaving the World and carrying the Pillars of the World with him as Sampson the Gates of the City makes all the World fall to confusion A great Earthquake The naturall cause of an Earthquake is the wind pent up in the bowels of the Earth which seeking vent breakes forth and so shakes the Earth So the Spirit or breath or wind of the Lord pent up in the bowels of the Earth shut up amongst earthly men as the Son a Man was three daies and three nights in the heart or bowels of of the Earth when it breaks forth it shakes and rends the World And this is the cause of the Earthquake and commotions that are now abroad in the World The breaking forth or ascending of the Spirit of God out of the World An Earthquake is one of the greatest perplexities and evils that can befall the world the Earth being the Center and stay of man The very bottome and foundation upon which all the camfort and good of the life of man stands When this center this rest or stay this foundation shakes nothing more affrightens and astonishes man These Witnesses ascending out of the world the Bottom and Foundation of peoples strength and comfort trembles and quakes the root of al humane life is cut insunder at once the bottom of al humane joy is taken away The foundation of Ecclesiastical and Civil power is shaken the ground-worke of all earthly stability and comfort of Church and Comon-wealth quakes and trembles I say the world is losing the foundation and ground-work upon which Religion and Civil-government stands and this makes the Earth to shake And the tenth part of the City fell This City is Babylon called the holy City This holy City is trampled under foot as you may read in the second verse of this Chapter This holy City or the outward Court is left to bee possessed by the men of the world by the Gentiles by men uncircumcised in heart and spirit by fleshly and carnal men This is the fate of this City The tenth part The tenth part you know was the Levits part which was holy to the LORD or dedicated to the LORD it was offered up to the Priests under the Law it was the chiefe maintenance of the legal priesthood And here the tenth part of the City the chiefest part the devoted part as you say Gods inheritance the lot and portion of the Priest-hood this part of the City fell in summe the holyest the chiefest the excellentest part of the City fell The waies of worldly Prophessors and Christians are somthing that is holy somthing that is offered up to God but in the hands of the world trampled under foot by the world There is an excellency in this this is that that 's called the tenth part that part wherein men have thought themselves most sacred and holy that which they have offered up to God that which they have seperated from the world and their owne proper use and given to God some of their wisdome some of their estates some of their time some of their strength c. the tenth part This tenth part of the City fell this chiefest and most excellent part This tenth part when they have reserved nine parts to themselves and dedicated the tenth to God That which hath bin mens Religion and that wherein they have placed their confidence and comfort and by which they have thought to be saved this excellent part this tenth part of the City fell in this earth-quake I tel you againe When these two Witnesses ascend and leave the earth then the highest formes of religion the most excellent seperated things of men those holy things wherein they have most devoted themselves to GOD and the Temple of God their hours of Praier their Sabbaths their Fastings their Engagements and Covenants